Towards a Sentimental Cartography of Water

28 November 2018

Greatmore Studios are glad to announce the upcoming group exhibition Towards a Sentimental Cartography of Water which opens on Wednesday, 28 November 2018, at 06:00 p.m.

The effects of the latest water crisis still shape the social, economical and environmental life of Cape Town and the Western Cape. What once was thought to be a finite state of emergency thus more and more becomes a new form of normality. But which attributes define and characterise this labile situation of a new normal? How has the crisis modified the personal and public relation to water? And to what extent can the crisis even serve as a catalyst for change that transforms the negative implications into a positive outlook?

The exhibition Towards a Sentimental Cartography of Water explores these issues through a range of photographic images, drawings, installations and media works by artists based in South Africa and Europe. The approach of the exhibition loosely refers to the concept of sentimental cartographies which marks a popular method for interpreting complex present-day phenomena. In this particular sense the artworks that are arranged in the exhibition provide some first coordinates for an yet unwritten cartography that describes our far-reaching connectedness with water.

By presenting works of Madeleine Bazil, Lizette Chirrime, Das Numen, Denver Jansen, Io Makandal, Koleka Putuma, Nina Schuiki and Dennis Siering the show brings together a range of artistic positions whose relation to water is marked by highly different focuses and backgrounds. For further information on the participating artists please see the short biographies below.

The exhibition is organised by Berlin-based curator Stefan Vicedom who currently participates in the Greatmore Studios' residency programme.